September 15, 2011

Fulton Bridge Baptist Church, Hamilton, commemorated its 100th anniversary Aug. 14 with a thoughtful and thoroughly organized event approximately two years in the making. The day provided not only a time to celebrate the church’s history but also a time to recognize its new pastor, Michael Stancil.

Pastor Daniel Duncan recently retired and officially handed over the reins to Stancil at the event.

According to Stancil, closing out Fulton Bridge Baptist’s first century with a retiring pastor and beginning the second century with a new pastor was a symbolic gesture.

He said the event was an exciting time to remember all the things the church accomplished in the last 100 years. “It was a time to remember, but it was also a time to call the church … to fight the good fight of faith,” Stancil remarked.

Rick Lance, executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, served as the guest speaker with a message from Psalms. Mark Gallups, director of missions for Marion Baptist Association, also delivered a message to the crowd of approximately 350 current and former church members and visitors from the community.

“[It was] just a good mixture of all of them,” said Clyde “Sonny” Nix, deacon and chairman of the centennial celebration committee.

Lonette Berg, executive director of the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission, presented a plaque to the church, and Shannon Knight provided the day’s music.

The church’s history was given as part of the program. In addition, a video — developed especially for the day — featured photos dating back to Fulton Bridge Baptist’s beginnings in 1911.

After the video presentation, attendees made their way to the educational facility for lunch, fellowship and more videos.

Following lunch, everyone was dismissed to visit the centennial celebration’s special exhibits. These exhibits included documents dating back to the church’s origins, as well as photos of the old church building and the current building, constructed in 1975. One member even created a model of the community as it was in the 1900s.

Hand-held paper fans with “Fulton Bridge Baptist Centennial, 1911–2011” written on them and pictures of the church buildings were distributed as mementos. Each family in attendance also was given a book that included the church’s history.